ducaT

Had to shorten m driveshaft to 160.5cm.
Not sure what the original length was, but I know what it is now!

Anyone thinking of doing this: have the DS shop pop the transmission yoke off.
Insert it into the tailshaft all the way, then pull it out 3/4 of an inch 19mm for you metrics. Measure from the center line of the U joint to the centerline of the other U joint.
Check it twice and give that to the DS shop. Mine was $62 to shorten and balance. I also had the u joints replaced while I had it out. You may not need this.

As an aside, Does anyone know of a good parts source to swap a 10 bolt into the rear? I'm getting a little worried about the 7.5 in there now.

StickSS

HI Gbody: You could allways look around for a used 4 inch cowl injection hood it should clear. One question for you were you able to bolt up the 2001-02 Fbody manifolds and cats with out modification? I am curious to know if the O2 sensors and driver side converter cleared the frame. Post a picture if you can. The mounts you used put the engine in the stock location. I was looking at the Morosso solid mounts and frame pads for the small block motors. It looks like these mounts convert the motor mount to the old style 3 bolt design. If you used these with the motor mount adapter plates it looks like it would work and put the motor in the stock location, if someone wanted to try this. Keep us posted. Good Luck

G-Body

iTrader: (4)

Duca T: I don`t know how it translates into metric but the stock driveshaft length on mine is 61.5 inches, and I am going to measure the driveshaft in basically the same way you thought of. As far as the rear end the 7.5" is a 10 bolt, I am bolting in a 8.5" grand national rear end (10 bolt)into mine because it is plenty strong for a ls1, and a direct bolt in, well except that the pinon sticks out 1 inch further than the 7.5" so the driveshaft must be 1" shorter than if it was a 7.5".

Stick SS: The 01 f-body manifolds bolted in on the drivers side with plenty of clearance except for the o2 sensor, that hit the frame but I will just move it. the outside side of the passenger cat touches the frame, I am going to dent it slightly or cut the pipe ahead of it and angle it differently to fit. I don`t have a digital camera so I don`t have pics now, but I am going to try and borrow one.

The shifter linkage bolted up. I put the El Camino selector lever from my th350 onto the 4l60e trans and the shifter bolted up. There is no spring tension on the rod going to the trans so I might have to bend the bracket that attaches to the proportioning valve.

ducaT

I've looked for the GN rear ends, but they're kind of hard to come by.
2.54 cm in 1 inch.
so my length is 160.5cm / 2.54 = 63.20 inches.

I'd gladly rebalance and shorten the driveshaft to have a better rear end, especially to have my choice of gears.

FWIW I ditched the column shift in favor of a floor shift. Also switched to buckets.

jdperk-86elco

I was suprised when my column shifter linkage bolted right up. My original transmission was a TH200C. I have plenty of spring tension for the shifter linkage. I think it is because the 200C is smaller than the 4l60e.

I have a question what is the gears for the 4l60e PNRD(overdrive)D21?

My stock rear axle is 7.5 but it came from the factory with 3:63 gear. In fact it must have been special because the axle stamping doesn't match the gear. Now I don't know the actual gear ratio but I was taching 6000 rpm at 60 mph. My goal is to just get the car drivable then do other mods. I will probably keep the 7.5 rear and put the Auburn differencial in it with the same gears. It should be plenty strong.

I will stick to the column shift until I decide to rebuild the interior then go with buckets and a console.

I might have the thing started this weekend. I still need some various hoses and fittings.

G-Body

iTrader: (4)

I got my GN rear end cheap, in fact I wasn`t even looking for one, I was walking through a yard and they had a special on rear ends $60 for any rear end. I was looking for posi rears and looked under a cutlass 442 and there it was. I know that they are usually hard to find though and if you do see one they want $600+ for it.

Exhaust update: I was able to make the 2001 f-body manifolds to fit by relocating the front drivers oxygen sensor to the outside of the manifold approximately 75 degrees from where the stock bung was located. Oh and don`t try drilling the front of the cat in order to put the sensor there, it is a double layer of metal with insulation inbetween . The passenger side fit without mods. In order to get the passenger side cat flange up to the exhaust flange you have to remove the inner stud on the exhaust flange and either put it in after the cat is up or just replace the stud with a bolt.

The truck throttle cable works fine, it is just long enough. you have to oversize the hole in the firewall slightly, mostly just remove the tabs in the hole, and then bend the gas pedal to get full throttle.

I was able to use a truck upper radiator hose without cutting it by putting it on top of the El Camino fan shroud, it looks like it will clear the hood. The bottom hose looks like it will require some cutting. The truck fan cleared my stock fan shroud just fine, although it sits a little further back than it should, the front of the blades are behind the back of the fan shroud.

jdperk-86elco

Thanks for the warning on the cat. I was going to drill and tap into it to weld on the O2 bung. So you say it isn't a good idea to do that huh.

How easy is it to drill and weld onto the exhaust manifold? Since it is cast is there anything special that needs to be done to weld to it. I have a wire feed mig welder that is capable of 1/8 inch that I welded the frame to will it do the trick, or should I take it somewhere?

I installed the motor with the passenger exhaust header still on but I had to take the drivers side exhaust manifold off. Both bolt right up and the cat extensions seem like they will bolt right up to the exhaust manifolds. The clearance to the frame will be tight though, maybe I can tweak them just to get them to work for the engine start.

I almost have it all wired up to the car.

I located the fuel relay on the right side of the glove box with a screw that was there into the AC box.

I located the drive by wire control box in a corner right behind the glove box using a short screw that I screwed into one of the plastic studs with a hole in the center. Only one screw will hold it since it is light weight. The screw was big enough to catch the edges of the plastic hole to tighten right down.

There is a metal brace right behind the radio section that I drilled and put a screw and nut to mount the 4 fuse block where the fuse block sticks down just slightly for fuse changes.

The computer is in the stock location with the connections on top. It is larger than the stock computer but I will fabricate an enclosure to make it look good.

Now just need to connect the wires to the C434 connector at the left of the glove box.

Cruise control wires to the stalk switch.

Tach wire to the tach.

Speedometer wire to the location behind the speedometer since I will need to get one to bolt up to the stock location later.

Need to connect the fuel pump wire.

Then the AC compressor wire to the C516 plug near the outside blower motor.

I need to finish connecting the starter wiring and battery cables.

This Sat. going to put the front end back on and get everything connected.

Making progress, it won't be long now.

Oh, yeah need to relocate that O2 sensor on the drivers side.

Cooling fans, need to get some dual setup from a newer Camaro and wire up some relays.

Various other little details too much to list everything.....

Speed Scene Wiring

This is a great swap, Corvette LS1 with the automatic transmission. If you are in need of a LS1 harness, we can make one for you, fly-by-wire or cable throttle. If we can help, let us know.

jdperk-86elco

Thanks for the offer but I already have the whole setup from SpearTech. I purchased the Ls1, 4l60e, and custom harness to my exact measurements and requirements including the Corvette fly-by-wire. The harness is a turn key setup and SpearTech has supported my questions and other miscellaneous parts, just great support and service from SpearTech.

Now all I need is EFILive.......

jdperk-86elco

Hey Guys,

I need to locate a Camaro or similar dual cooling fan setup. I think its shroud will fit this radiator. Anyone know where I can find the setup? A C5 dual fan setup will work also.

StickSS

Hi JD: This tread is very long and informative. Lots of good info here. We have 3 people doing the same exact swap in to the same vehicle. Everyone is using different mounts and a little different configuration. So far it seems to me that the truck motors are cheaper but you have to use an Fbody oil pan and also Fbody exhaust manifolds because the truck ones don't fit. Also there is hood clearence problems with the truck accessories if you want to use the stock hood. The money you save on a truck engine may be offset by these additional costs so it maybe almost the same cost if you used an older 1999 LS1 complete motor if you could get it for $1800 or $2000. I like the way you are mounting the stock computer inside the car but if you go this way then you need a new longer harness. Looking at the 98 computer it looks alot bigger so I don't think it would mount inside the car. Looking at the fans for the radiator John used the single fan from the GN. I think he wired it separately. Ramchargers I think they are a sponser here and on turbobuicks.com sells a dual fan setup that fits the stock radiator for these cars so I would look at one of these or call them up. They are set to run off the stock Buick GN relays. But JD you are running your fans off the computer so you could probably cut the wires and splice in the right connectors from an Fbody. You could probably buy these from a large AC delco warehouse or dealer or maybe Speartech can get them for you. Just an idea it maybe easier then cutting up an Fbody fan unit to fit. I know Gbody doesn't have a camera but maybe you or Duca can post up some pictures of your manifolds/header setup when you get it done I would like to see how much clearence you all have. The 3 of you should meet up at an Elcamino convention and have a beer together and swap stories. Good Luck, See Ya

jdperk-86elco

Hey StickSS, I am getting ready to go work on the car.

Engine Harness:
Since I wanted to mount the computer in the stock location I measured my existing harness and got SpearTech to make the harness that length. The computer is larger than the stock computer but I think I can fabricate an encloser to encase it in the stock location. I will take pictures and post this location.

Exhaust manifolds:
The exhaust manifolds themselves fit with the exception of the drivers side O2 location. The cat extensions fit also but are really close if not touching the frame. I haven't mounted them yet to see exactly how close the extensions are to the frame. My goal is to use the stock exhaust manifolds and replace the cat extentions with new stuff with a new exhaust system. That way I can get a better fitting system from the exit of the exhaust manifolds back. I just want to get the extensions to work just so I can start the engine.

So far I am very happy with the way the engine and transmission fits in the car. The only headache so far is the exhaust system.

I am also glad I located the computer inside the car as it will connect up better and give the engine compartment a cleaner look instead of having a computer mounted on a fenderwell in plain view.

I tell you what if I get time tonight I will bolt up the exhaust manifolds and extensions and take some pictures. If not tonight then sometime soon as I am close to getting it done.

Thanks for the dual fan setup on where to purchase. I see some Camaro dual fans on ebay and I have place a bid on a couple.

ducaT

I'll get some pics of my setup here shortly.

I'm pretty certain that I can get the O2 sensors in the stock location.


As far as cost goes, the thing's I needed to swap from the truck motor were the F body pan/pickup/screen. I bought them new and they were about $270.

02 F body maniflds were $45.

4.8 from a 2002 with <45k was $500 and the 4l60e was about 500 from the junkyard, with the Torque converter.

So a total of about $1300 in the whole motor itself. I'd like to see someone dulicate that with an Ls1.

My thoery was to get the car running with the 4.8 and then if the performance bug hits, I can always add a blower or switch to a 6.0 block.

For what I use the car for, 290 hp/tq from the 4.8 is plenty. And the camino only weighs about 3200lbs.

StickSS

Hi Duca: You Got a good deal on that motor for $500. Especially if it include all the accessories, computer and harness. Are you using the truck harness and modifying it yourself? What are you going to run for cooling fans will you be able to just use the clutch fan on the water pump and stock radiator and shrouding? I got an Idea for you guys don't know if it could be done. If you got the steel Goodmark cowl induction hood it is flat underneath and has a round opening for a carb air cleaner so you could make it functional. If you modified a GMMP single plane manifold for a carb to use injectors and aftermarket fuel rails, I dont see why you couldn't mount a drive by wire Corvette T/B straight up like an old carb. It doesn't have a cable right. You could make a short stack for the mass airflow sensor and adapt an old style carb air cleaner to it. This way you would have a functional cowl induction motor. Some body might want to look into this. Might also work on old Camaros and Chevelles too. Just an Idea. Keep us posted Good Luck.

G-Body

iTrader: (4)

JD: the mig welder should be just fine to weld a o2 bung into the manifold. Definently don`t try drilling the cat, that was a mistake. i had no problem welding the o2 bung to the cast iron manifold and the welder ran out of shielding gas just as I struck the first arc , of course it was too late to get a refill so I just kept welding.

As far as a LS1 being cheaper than a truck motor I don`t know, i paid 1000 for my motor and trans and 100 for a used oil pan, 75 for manifolds and cats, the junkyards usually won`t give you cats anyway so I would have had to buy cats even if I bought a LS1. The tall intake looks like it will not be a problem at all and it looks like the alternator will fit below the stock hood if I cut out and relocate one of the underhood braces. If I had used a LS1 the oil pan would have had to be notched, because the truck coils and power steering pump allow the engine to be set back further, so I was able to use a stock f-body oil pan.

i will be starting it for the first time tomorrow, I just have to fab the shifter linkage, cut the intake silencers off the tube so it will fit, connect the obd2 port, connect my autometer speedo, put in the tow/haul mode switch and fill it with fluids. Then

jdperk-86elco

Well we each have our own reasons for the motor we selected. I paid $5200 for the LS1 with 12k miles on it and that included 4l60e, custom harness, computer, Corvette filter/reg, rubber elbow and k&n filter, exhaust manifolds with cats F-body, F-body all accessories, drive-by-wire setup, computer reprogramming to match the harness, and the motor was started on the custom harness when I drove to pick it up. I think I got a good deal and just about a turn key setup.

GBody I have some questions; what size drill bit did you use to cut the hole in the exhaust manifold? I will be ready to weld on the O2 bung this weekend and that is just about the last little item.

Your indash Autometer gauge which one did you use and did you get it to fit and look like the factory? I would really like to see a picture of the gauge mounted in the dash!!! A gauge is something I will solve later after I get it drivable, but not that much later.

James

ducaT

Yeah, I'm using the truck harness. It's really easy. Bought a fuse box, or GM calls it the underhood "junction box". After you plug the harness into it, you just have to make a few jumps from one connector to the next on the bottom of the junction box, then run power to the box and the wires for the fuel pump relay and ignition.

$500 on ebay for the motor. Came with everything but starter, alternator and PS pump. So far $20 for a starter, and $80 for a 105 amp alternator. So I guess I should say that I have $600 in the motor.
The little stuff always adds up on these projects.
I'll probably have as much $$ wrapped into the exhaust and miscellaneous BS as I do in the motor itself.

Can't change the intake manifold here in CA, it's not really legal, but that's OK, I'll just get a cowl hood, or cut a hole and run a scoop.

John B

iTrader: (10)

There probably isn't a referee smart enough to know the difference intake manifolds! Heck, if you're that concerned about it I'd leave the hood off (or buy a junker hood and cut a hole in it), run it through emissions and as soon as the car is home slap on an LS1 or LS6 manifold and put your stock hood back on

ducaT

Probably not, but I'd hate to have the one that does find it and then be rejected.

I only paid $700 for this el camino, so the hood IS a junker hood!

I'm going to leave the hood off until I can get it running and then past the BAR/smog guys.

StickSS

Another quick question for you guys with the truck motors. Are you running fly by wire or did you convert to cable TB? Are you using the stock fuel rails with a return line or did you convert to aftermarket ones and corvette filter regualtor setup. Thanks